Aerospace Diary

AIN AIR TRANSPORT PERSPECTIVE  »  APRIL 1, 2013 by    NEELAM MATHEWS IATA director general Tony Tyler (right) urged Ajit Singh, India’s minister for civil aviation, to accelerate the pace of air transport policy reform at last week’s India Aviation Day conference in New Delhi.  April 1, 2013, 6:00 PM India’s long-awaited new civil aviation policy needs to address key issues on infrastructure and high taxation, according to Tony Tyler, director general and  CEO  of the International Air Transport Association ( IATA ). Speaking at the annual India Aviation Day in New Delhi on March 26, he urged the country’s government to produce a coordinated policy framework for aviation that all relevant departments, including the ministries for finance, economy, development, rural infrastructure and tourism, can pursue. Tyler made the point that an uncoordinated approach across government undermines what little aviation policy India no...

Air Transport Aviation Week & Space Technology Jan 03 , 2011 , p. 39 Neelam Mathews New Delhi India plans new $2-billion international hub in Mumbai India’s commercial capital, Mumbai, is set to see a second international airport with a $2-billion price tag, as the city’s international hub is so overcrowded that carriers are shifting flights elsewhere, especially to New Delhi. In the past year alone, infrastructure and space constraints forced the civil aviation ministry to refuse permission to airlines from Bahrain, Dubai, Qatar, Oman, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand to start operations in Mumbai, home to 18 million residents. Long the nation’s busiest hub, Mumbai lost that title to New Delhi in 2008. As the new year dawns, New Delhi will handle 96 more flights per day than Mumbai as major airlines, including Air India, shift to the capital city’s better facility. Both Mumbai a...

Aviation Daily Nov 25 , 2010 , p. 02 Neelam Mathews After years of wrangling with the Ministry of Environment and Forests, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has finally received approval for the second international airport in Mumbai. Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel and Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan jointly announced the project in a hastily called news conference. The Ministry of Civil Aviation has been pushing for a second airport, saying the current international airport in Mumbai cannot be extended any farther and has nearly reached its maximum handling capacity. The congestion at the airport is forcing many carriers to look at other airports, such as New Delhi, as alternatives. Mumbai’s current airport has a single runway and will not be able to cope with the growing air traffic. The estimated $2-billion airport will be situated in Navi Mumbai, a suburb...

Airports Aviation Daily Jul 07 , 2010 , p. 08 Neelam Mathews The new Terminal 3 at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, which was dedicated on July 3, has highlighted the lack of adequate airport facilities in Mumbai. “Mumbai, India’s financial capital, needs a second airport. Its present one is saturated,” says Praful Patel, minister of civil aviation. A new Navi Mumbai airport, which was cleared for development in 2006, has not been given environmental clearance. News reports from India say local officials are meeting with environment ministry officials to speed the process. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh says the Indian aviation sector has the potential to absorb up to $120 billion in investments by 2020, while Patel says Delhi has now become the No. 1 airport in terms of passenger traffic and flights, overtaking Mumbai. T3, built by a public/private partnership, can handle 34 million passengers a year and opens ahead of upgrades to 35 airports planned by the Airpo...